Mixture control valve for regulating proportions and total flow of two or more fluids



y 1954 J. M. ROBERTS MIXTURE CONTROL VALVE FOR REGULATING P AND TOTALFLOW OF TWO OR MORE FL. Filed Dec. 15, 1947 2,684,828 ROPORTIO UIDS 2Sheets-Sheet l limii h mom e/er Ill . III/III INVENTOR. John M. Robertsp \IA. w. n. H x v FIG. 3' BY A TTOR/VEYS July 1954 J. M. ROBERTS2,684,828

MIXTURE CONTROL VALVE FOR REGULATING PROPORTIONS 8 AND TOTAL FLOW OF TWOOR MORE FLUIDS Filed Dec. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet z Hot V 22 ColdIncrease Volume ,3 4

P23 1 LHM H O Cold H O v I H1 I Colder V zip-Warmer T, i

Decrease Volume x w '58 F IG. 6

g g H pressure 6.7073 64 I T k T 45 INVENTOR. John M. Roberts PatentedJuly 27, 1954 PATENT" oFFieE MiXTURE' do NTito L VALVE FOR RE 'ImA'i'AINGPROPORTIONS ANDTIOTAL FLOW OF TWO OR MORE FLUID John-M. Roberts,Rieiilandi Wash. implication bec'embei 15, 194?; serial No. 791,923

3 Claims. 1' I This invention relates to mixture control valves, andparticularly to a; n'fiktiir' control valve adapted'to regulatefnot onlythe propertions'of two 1* more fluids having difierent char act-ensu s,such as not and eoldwatei', butalso the total now of 'tliemixture. I I Iflfhe valve of this] imientiOn is particularly adapted to be utilized incbntrdllin'g hotandjbbl'd Wetter passing 'to a shower header utilizedfor a similar purpose-in eme; jffiee'oi" fabtofi, a1= thougliit will beunderstood that the vli'ge" may beuse'cl' in controlling the new orfantvvb '01 more'fiuids having difi'e rent characteristics. By diifei'entcharaeteris'tics is meant a differenb' in physical characteristicsaswell as in clien'ii'al nliafacteri'sticsi Thus, one 'ex'ainpl'isa"diffef= enoe' in temperttture, such as the difierenc betwenhot andcold' water, or other fluids; other examples are" difl'eien'ee's insee'eific' gravity, viscosity andj other normall physicalcharacteristics, or diffre'noes menemem coin position 01 chemicaproperties. It will be under: stood; of' cdurs, that the fluids; ma'ydiffer n m re than onechirac'teristicg Thus; the valve of this inventionmay be utili'Zd in a plant or ictory for'niiziing awe or"mbre"fluidsjnoi'mally liquids, but which mayb gaseous. I

Among the objects" ofthis invention are to Drovidea novel mixturecdntiol valve; to provide a. mixture" control valve whichinc'l'udsasingle regulator or" regulating element for con'l 'irqll ing not onlythe p'r dboltidns of 'a" pluralitj Of fluids, but'al'so the" volume'of"flow thereof; to piqvide' such a control valve in whili the'pfoportions and volum'e of flow' may be adjusted independ entiy; orsimultaneously; tdplevid'such a valve whichfis so constructed I Iassembly proteins are Simplified? to pra id'e such a valve whichrequires only one set of packing for the actuating stein" or membeii toprovide such" a. valve in an indicator, adapted to Shaw a eondition ofthe mixture, suchfas'the temp ature theieo'f and. to provide such" avalvewl'iich is eoln-paIdfi in eon"- st'riiction and. effective inoperation."

The above and other objeqts and the novel features" of this inventionwill beating aiiioafeiit from the description whicli'foll'ows'; taikenin connection Witli' the accompanying drzijwings, m"

whieh: I I Fig 1 is a side vi of a 'miiiture eont ollyalve constiuctedin acord'aneew tn tliis invention;

an end" that manufacturing and which may be installed I Fig. 4 isa'three-tliinensional View illustrating theii'i's'tallationof'th'e-valve'of'l i g; 1 in a. shower construction; 7 I I I I I Fig. 5is an enlarged cross section o'f'th-e valve, taken at the plane of theinlets,' along line 5 5 OffFig} 3, butwith the regulating elementatadifferentposition; I I I I I I I I Fig, 6 is a diaiz'i amzn'eltie Idevelopment of the cooperating regulating parts of the value; I I

Fig. Zis an enlarged longitudinal section of the regulating elei nent oftlie vztlve; I I

Fig," 8 is a fragmentar vertical section similar to Fig. 3; illustratinga-va'iiation in construction l i' .7 v is i Fig; 9 is afragnienteiyyertical section similar to the "ub per' portion of 'Figr 35 illustrating 22 vari ation in the constiuctionthereof; and I Fig. 10is a fraginentaiysection similar to the 8 inthe constructiotcl.

A mixture control valve" constructedin aetiorcl anoe with thisinvention, as illustrateil in" Figs. 1 to 3; includes a body B,'ariegula;to1 'R; and 0011 tfol eleinentsC. In general, thebod'yfB and theparts thei'eof {are stationary; the j regulator R is? vmovable axi llyes 1 wen a being rotatable within the; b dy-Bend the control ele ents caie utilized in adjusting '0'! eh'dnging the position of e reguietcr 'R;I I I I I I I I I The prirnary new regulation and Control of th'evalveof this invention is effectecl by a cylindricel s' lee've' lll ofthe'regulator R sleev e I fltlpending from thelowef end offa stem HS'ieeve mis received in a cylindrical intake chamber l 2,' as in Figs. 3and 5,Vfoi' ined"in'a'p l1ig' I3 mounted intl e valve body-B; which'jplug'provi les' additional f e atuies j oi this invention; as I explainedlater. Sleeve ill is provided with a transverselyextenqing, 'reetangulafslot i 4",whichpreferably extends for etbout 180 of the periphery of thesleeve, as in Fig. 5, and is adapted to cooberelte' with a pain ofrectangulaf ports [5' and" It; disposed opposite each other andiorr'n'edin plug 13, Le, provided" in" the wall or chamb r 12; Ports I5 ah'd I Bmay each e tend rqr about as shewn in Fig. 5, to' provide sensitivity Iof mixture contiol%tliat is; sleeve 1 Ii- Will tli fli'fflthl beforeShutting off the 116W it ith'rpdrtl' It will be; understood Of course,that either or both ports [5 an; IG me. hailie 'a, di fir'ent angularextent. Poitsli ancl were r'esii'e'etively'in dir'etfqb xiiunicationwith; l m si e iid 1e p i q im i pple.

In the position shown in Fig. 5, which corresponds to the position shownin Fig. 6, equal proportions of hot and cold water will flow through theports and :5, respectively. (Assuming that the water sources are underregulated equal pressure.) When the sleeve it is turned in acounterclockwise direction, as in the direction of arrows 2i of Figs. 5and 6, then the slot it will expose a greater amount of port i5 and alesser amount of port it, thus making the mixture warmer. Also, when thesleeve ill is turned or rotated in the direction of the arrows 22 ofFigs. 5 and 6, then a greater amount of cold water and a lesser amountof hot water, due to greater exposure of port i6 and lesser exposure ofport l5, will produce a colder mixture. When the sleeve is turnedthrough 90 in a counterclockwise direction, 1. e., in the direction ofthe arrows 2i, so that cold water port it is blanked off and hot waterport I5 is fully exposed laterally, then the entire flow will be hotwater. Similarly, when the sleeve is is turned 90 in the direction ofarrows 22, so that cold water port it is fully exposed and hot waterport It is blanked 01f, then the entire flow will be cold water. Thelatter, of course, is the position of sleeve H3 shown in Fig. 3. As willbe evident, merely by turning sleeve it, the proportions of hot and coldwater, or other fluids having different characteristics, may beregulated.

The total volume of flow may be regulated by moving sleeve lil axially,or upwardly and downwardly. In the position illustrated in Fig. 6, whichcorresponds to the longitudinal position of Fig. 3 with respect to totalflow, the upper edge of slot i l is about midway between the lower andupper edges of ports l5 and it. Thus, approximately half of the totalcross sectional area available for flow is uncovered in this position.If the sleeve it is moved upwardly, as in the direction of arrow 23 ofFig. 6, then the volume of flow will increase; and similarly, if thesleeve it is moved downwardly, as in the direc tion of the arrow 24 ofFig. 6, the volume of flow will decrease. decrease in the volume of flowis independent of the relative proportions of the diiferent fluids beingmixed. Thus, from Fig. 6 it is evident that the angular position" ofslotit remains the same as sleeve it is moved upwardly or downwardly, sothat the area of ports is and i6 uncovered by slot M will remain thesame in relative proportion. Thus, the total volume of flow can beadjusted without afiecting the regulated proportions of the two fluidsbeing mixed. Furthermore, it is also evident that the total volume offlow does 'not change during the adjustment of the proportions of thefluids, since the upper edge of slot it will remain at the sameelevation during angular or turning movement of sleeve it. Thus,any'increase in the area of port it uncovered will be compensated by a.corresponding decrease in the uncovered area of port l5, and vice versa.(The total volume of flow may, of course, change slightly at the extremeconditions when one of the ports is almost closed, due to the drawingeffect of an extremely small port, but such extreme conditions may begenerally disregarded for practical operations.)

Referring now to Fig. 3, the cold water, or hot water, or usually amixture thereof, passes from the interior of sleeve iii-through holes 25formed about the periphery thereof adjacent the upper end of the sleeveill, the fluid passing into a discharge chamber 26, formed in body Babove As will be evident, an increase or plug l3. From discharge chamber2'6, the fluid or mixture is discharged through a passage formed in anoutlet nipple Zl, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Each of nipples l9, 2c and21 is provided with pipe threads or other suitable means for connectionto piping, hoses and the like. Thus, in the installation shown in Fig.4, a hot water supply pipe 29 is connected to inlet nipple iii, a coldwater supply pipe Bil is connected to inlet nipple 2E, and a pipe 3 2,leading to a shower head 32, is connected to outlet nipple 2?. Thepositions of the inlet and outlet nipples may be varied from thoseshown, but in the present embodiment, the body B is adapted to extendthrough the shower wall 33, so that the piping connections may bedisposed on the outside of the shower wall 3'5. The valve may besupported by the piping, or, if desired, the valve body B may beprovided with a flanged bracket 34, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, formounting on the shower wall 33.

The regulator R and the plug it, as well as the body B, may be formedfrom a casting or forging, as desired, the outer periphery of sleeve itbeing machined to size and the intake chamber i2 being machined orreamed in plug l3. The sleeve it is preferably machined with such atolerance or clearance that it will move relatively freely in thechamber E2, and there is, therefore a possibility that a slight leakagemay take place when the valve is shut, due to the continued pressurefrom inlets H and it. Therefore, a shut-off valve is preferably providedat the upper end of sleeve H], as by a seat formed at the upper end ofplug it, and a cooperating washer 35, formed of rubber or other suitablematerial and mounted in an annular groove 3i, machined or otherwisesuitably formed in regulator R just beneath a supporting flange 38 forthe washer, as shown also in Fig. 7. It is evident that when the valveis closed, washer 36 will engage seat 35 effectively to prevent anyseepage or leakage, due to continued pressure and the clearance betweensleeve it and the wall of chamber i2. It will be understood, of course,that the washer may be mounted in body B and the seat therefor providedon regulator R, as in the case of the washer 36' mounted on the upperend of plug l3 of Fig. 8, the washer 36 being adapted to engage the seatformed by the underside of flange 38' of stem H, and also that othertypes of closure valves may be provided. If desired, the fit betweensleeve H! and the wall of chamber l2 may be made sufficiently tight, sothat the possibility of leakage during complete closure will beprevented, but the expense, incident to the accurate machiningnecessary, usually is greater than the cost of adding the closure valveat the upper end of the sleeve it.

The valve body B is formed by casting or forging, being providedinteriorly with threads 39 to receive plug it, which is locked in aposition in which ports i5 and i3 register with passages H and 18,respectively, by suitable means, such as a locking ring 46, as in Fig.3. Utilization of plug 13 to provide intake chamber [2 therewithin, aswell as to provide discharge charm ber 26 within the valve body abovethe plug, are

features of considerable value, since the plug.

53, prior to installation, is more readily accessible than valve body Bwould be, for accurate machining of chamber l2 and ports and [8. Chamber[2 may be accurately produced by dri1l ing and/or reaming, while portsl6 and 16 are preferably milled. As will be evident, generally 5.rectangular slots extending for about 90, to provide ports l5 and 16,are -quitereadily milled in the side wall of plug I3. will be evident,the expense of producing accurate ports 45 and 16in the interior of thevalveb'cdy B would greatly exceed the cost of milling the slots in plug13.

Once the plug l3 is-inserted-in position, it'is normally not withdrawnagain unless forinspection of seat 35, or replacement of washer 3501 thelike, andthe threads: 35, between theplug l3 and the valve body,are'preferably relatively tight, and, in addition, a sealingcompoundwhich will not be affected by the fluid flowing through the valve isemployed.

Stem II or regulator R passes upwardly from discharge chamber 26 througha suitable hole drilled in valve body B, while packing 4|, compressed bya packing gland 42, is provided to prevent leakage around the stem ll.As will be evident, all of the control elements C are mounted exteriorlyof the packing 4|, so that only one packing gland is necessary.

The control elements C include a circular handle 45, keyed or otherwisesecured to stem H, for rotating the stem and thereby regulating therelative proportions of the fluids, and two handles r tabs 46, extendingupwardly on opposite sides from an interiorly threaded sleeve 41, whichengages threads 48 formed on the outside of valve body B and is adaptedto be rotated to move the stem I I and sleeve [0 upwardly anddownwardly, to regulate the total volume of flow. Handles 46 preferablyare disposed at two opposite positions, and outwardly from circularhandle 45, to permit a maximum of accessibility to the latter. Formoving stem ll upwardly and downwardly, a lifting ring 49 is receivedaround its outer edge between a shoulder formed at the upper end oflifting sleeve 41 and a restraining ring which may be riveted orotherwise suitably attached to sleeve 41. The inner edge of lifting ring49 is received between a pair of washers 52, which are placed between ashoulder 53' on stem II and circular handle 45. Lifting ring 49 ispreferably non-rotatable, so that when handles 46 and lifting sleeve 41are turned, the rotational movement thereof will not be imparted to thefluid proportion adjustment, and also so that when the circular handle iturned to change the proportional adjustment, the rotational movementwill not be transmitted to lifting sleeve 41, which would cause a changein the flow volume adjustment. For this purpose, a stop pin 54 extendsthrough a hole 55 in lifting ring 49 and is threaded into a tapped hole56 in valve body B. The head of pin 54 is additionally adapted to act asa stop to limit upward movement of regulator R and the sleeve l0, sothat the sleeve cannot be moved upwardly past the full flow position. Inaddition, pin 54 may be utilized to limit the angular movement of handle45, as shown in Fig. 9, by providing handle 45 with an internal web 57extending radially, each edge of the web 57 forming an abutment or stopto limit the turning of handle 45'. The width of web 51, of course,determines the extent of angular movement permitted.

The stem II, as in Fig. 7, is provided with a longitudinal hole 58,extending from the outer end nearly to the sleeve l0, and is adapted toact as a well to receive an extending leg of an indicating device 59,such as a thermometer of conventional construction, which is provided,as in Fig. 2, with an indicating pointer 60 and a dial (H, on which thetemperature of the fluid mixture passing through. sleeve 10 isindicated. The thermometer may be, of the iii-metallic type, and includea housing adapted to: bereceived' in a well '62- formed in circularhandle at, Fig. 3. As will be evident, the-thermometer may be of anyother suitable type, and other instruments may be used, such as apressure gage 64 of Fig. 9, for indicating the pressure within thesleeve l0," or in dischargerchamber 26, as by well 58 of Fig. 10 beingextended to the interior of sleeve In, or as in Fig. 8, by. a sidepassage 55 being drilled from.well 58 to communicate withdischargechamberZB. The-upper end of stem H, as in Fig. 7, may bethreaded to facilitate attachment of circular handle 45 and thethermometer housing thereto, while the well 58 may be eliminatedentirely, if so desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mixture control valve, a body having a cylindrical intakechamber and ports in the wall thereof, and an inlet leading to each portfor supplying fluids of different characteristics thereto; a sleevedisposed in said intake chamber and having a slot adapted to cooperatewith said ports to control the flow of fluid therethrough; a handle forrotating said sleeve; a rotatable, screwoperated lifting handle formoving said sleeve axially; means connecting said rotatable liftinghandle with said sleeve, including an annular ring; and a pin extendingthrough said ring to prevent rotative movement of said lifting handlefrom being imparted to said sleeve.

2. In a mixture control valve, as defined in claim 1, wherein said pinis provided with a head adapted to act as a stop to limit axial movementof said stem.

3. A mixture control valve comprising a body having inlet nipplesextending therefrom in opposite directions adjacent one end and adischarge nipple spaced from said inlet nipples, said body having agenerally cylindrical opening at said end; a hollow cylindrical plugthreadedly received in said opening and having milled slots in the sidewall thereof to provide a cylindrical intake chamber having oppositelydisposed generally rectangular ports, each said inlet nipple having apassage leading to a port, for supplying fluids of differentcharacteristics thereto, said plug also providing an outlet chamber insaid body disposed axially of said intake chamber with said outletnipple having a passage connecting therewith; a regulator having acylindrical hollow sleeve disposed in said intake chamber, a stem forsaid sleeve extending through said discharge chamber, and a flange atthe stem end of said sleeve, said regulator having a groove at saidflange to receive seating material adapted to close against the end ofsaid plug to provide a closure valve between said chambers, said sleevealso having a generally rectangular slot extending peripherally forabout and adapted to cooperate with said ports to control the flow offluid therethrough; a single packing for said stem exteriorly of saiddischarge chamber; a circular handle for rotating said stem and attachedthereto at the outer end, said handle having a well and said stem havinga longitudinal hole extending to about said flange, for receiving atemperature indicating device; an outer sleeve having outwardly disposedhandles at each side of said cylindrical handle, said outer sleeve andsaid body having cooperating threads for effecting movement of saidouter sleeve longitudinally of said body; an annular lifting ring havinga hole and rotatably attached at its outer edge to said 7 outer sleeveand at its inner edge to said stem; and a pin extending through saidhole for preventing rotation of said lifting ring, said pin beingmounted on said body and having a head adapted to limit outward movementof said lifting ring and stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number8 Name Date McCloud Jan. 9, 1912 Hinkle Dec. 2, 1924 Hickerson Apr. 7,1925 Hennessey Dec. 4, 1928 Wimmer June 2, 1931 Saelzler Oct. 18, 1932Hennessey Jan. 16, 193 1 Fitter Feb. 27, 193i Donnelly Oct. 30, 1934Thompson July 13, 1987 Moen Apr. 17, 194-5

